Roman stages were based off of Greek stages. Greek stages were built on sloping hillsides and used terraced seating. The Greek stage was made up of a few essential parts.
The circular space is called the orchestra which was the performance space. Early theater and religion were inseparable, so there was an alter to Dionysus near the back of the orchestra. The audience sat in the theatron, or the terraced seats that surrounds the orchestra. In earlier times, these were made of wood, but this changed to stone in the Hellenistic period. Greek theaters were large spaces, a theater could fit 12,000-14,000 people. This arrangement created a wonderful acoustic space, but low visibility. The very last rows could hear the action, but could not see it happen. The building behind the orchestra is called the skene. This was a part of the stage building. It was a temporary structure made of wood that housed costumes and masks. On either side of the orchestra there were entrances and exits called eisodoi or parodoi.
The Romans redesigned the Greek theater. They were grand and ornately decorated places. However, Roman theaters were temporary and made of wood. Roman stages look very similar to Greek stages.
The Romans mastered the architectural use of the arch, and didn’t have to build their theaters into hillsides. The orchestra was changed to a semi-circle and it wasn’t used for plays. Instead it was used for staged ancient sea battles called, Naumachia. The staging space was behind the orchestra. Some of these stages could be spaces as large as a football field. The scanea, or Greek skene, rested behind the stage. The scaena was larger then the skene. This structure was two to three stories and acted as a dressing rooms and storage space. The scaena also had a roof that protected the actors. There were entrance and exit wings on either side of scaena. This space also had three to five entrance spaces; the middle door often had stages and was the largest of the doors.
The Romans added a new innovation to theater, curtains. There were two types, the auleum and the siparium. The auleum was a curtain that covered the front. However, it didn’t cover the entire structure. It would have covered the actors. The siparium was a painted backdrop, to better establish scenery.
The Romans took Greek staging and re-engineered it to work better. While these changes seem small, they paved they way towards our modern theater.
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